School librarians in transition, pushed by cuts and pulled by technology

Monday

Jul 1, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 1, 2013 at 2:42 PM

In some schools, librarians have morphed into iPad-wielding tech whizzes, who preside over lively "Learning Commons." And in others, the days of the school librarian are just ... gone.

NATALIE SHERMAN

Gone are the days of the librarian in glasses, shhh-ing noisy students while stamping a catalogue of books.

In some schools, librarians have morphed into iPad-wielding tech whizzes, who preside over lively "Learning Commons." And in others, the days of the school librarian are just ... gone.

New Bedford, which is facing roughly 200 staff cuts for the next fiscal year, will let go three middle school librarians. At Old Rochester Regional Junior High, the librarian is shifting to a part-time position.

Fairhaven is also eliminating the job at the middle and high schools, while hiring technology specialists instead.

"We are kind of in a state of flux now," said Kathy Lowe, executive director of the Massachusetts School Library Association. "The role has changed, but you still need that person that knows the curriculum, who knows the students, who knows the resources."

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges requires high schools to employ a professional librarian to receive accreditation, but Massachusetts is one of the few states in the country that doesn't set standards for libraries or track data about their work.

As a result, the state provides little guidance about how to manage the transition, resulting in disparities between, and within, districts, Lowe said.

"There's no one overseeing. ... That's why we see such a lack of equity across the state and inconsistencies," said Lowe, whose organization is pushing a bill in the state Legislature that would form a commission to study the state of school libraries and make a plan for their future.

Studies show that students in schools with professional librarians score better on standardized tests, even controlling for economic background.

Even so, the school librarian has long held a position under siege.

A 1993 New York Times story read "School Libraries Struggle to Survive in California," and in 2002, the last time New Bedford faced a similar round of staff cuts, elementary librarians were among the ones to go.

In recent years, Lowe said the case for keeping the position has grown even more difficult, as districts struggle to keep up with technology.

Most SouthCoast districts do not staff elementary schools with librarians, said Laura Gardner, School Library Association area director, also a librarian at Dartmouth Middle School. With this year's cuts, the position will become rare at the middle school level, as well.

"When I see my kids, they often have very little knowledge about how to cite resources," said Gardner, who oversees a collection of more than 11,000 books and leads classes on multi-media and "information literacy."

"There's a lot to teach at the middle school level and if they make it all the way to high school without a librarian, I just think that's devastating for their future in this ... information-rich world," Gardner said.

Fairhaven Superintendent Robert Baldwin said the elimination of the librarian positions is a result of a restructuring effort focused on making technology an every-day part of the classroom experience, whether that's online research or multi-media presentations.

"We feel that we're hitting kids at their level," he said, adding that the position could be filled by a librarian, but with an emphasis on technology.

"The instructional technology teachers are not just going to be teaching the students, they're going to be teaching the adults how to integrate technology into their instruction," he said. "I look at it as expanding and enhancing the role."

In Dartmouth, Superintendent Ana Riley said the technology specialist focuses on training staff, while librarians remain the go-to person for students.

"We don't see them as interchangeable," she said, adding that the district is hoping to expand its number of technology specialists, while maintaining its librarians. "We have to have an important mixture of the library being for research and instruction and for pleasure reading because to me, the cornerstone of education is reading."

Schools leaders said they expect the future, at the very least, to involve more money going to software and e-books, and less to the print collection, a trend that has already started.

In Wareham, which has one librarian at the high school, the district has turned to private donations from Gateway Tavern owner Joe Sauro to ease that transition, said librarian Judith DeBonise.

"He's done a wonderful job with helping us keep up with the technology ... and transforming our space," DeBonise said. "It is a tough time. ... We just need to transition and give students what they need."